Biography:Sikh gurus

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Short description: Spiritual leaders of Sikhism
A miniature painting, dated 1890, depicting an "imaginary portrait" of the ten gurus and others.[1]
Gurus of the Sikhs. Fresco from Dera Nirmala, Tanda-Hoshiarpur.

The Sikh gurus (Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ; Devanagari: सिख गुरु) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established the religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469.[2] The year 1469 marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. He was succeeded by nine other human gurus until, in 1708, the Guruship was finally passed on by the tenth guru to the holy Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, which is now considered the living Guru by the followers of the Sikh faith.[3]

Etymology and definition

Main page: Biography:Guru

Guru (/ˈɡuːruː/, UK also /ˈɡʊruː, ˈɡʊər-/; Sanskrit: गुरु, Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ, IAST: guru) is a Sanskrit term for a "teacher, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field.[4] Bhai Vir Singh, in his dictionary of Guru Granth Sahib describes the term Guru as a combination of two separate units: "Gu;(ਗੁ)" meaning darkness and "Rū;(ਰੂ)" which means light.[5] Hence, Guru is who brings light into darkness or in other words, the one who enlightens. Bhai Vir Singh's definition provides further insight about Sikhi itself and explains why Guru Granth Sahib is considered the living Guru. The word Sikh is derived from the Sanskrit term shishya[6] (Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ) which means a disciple or a student. Thus, Sikhs have a student–teacher relationship with their Gurus since their teachings, written in Guru Granth Sahib, serve as a guide for the Sikhs.

According to Sikh beliefs, all the Gurus contained the same light or soul and their physical body was a vessel for containing the same essence. When one Guru passed, the successor inherited this light and that is why the Gurus are also referred to as mahalla (house).[7]

The gurus

No. Name Portrait Birth date Guruship Birthplace Clan Faith born as Father Mother Date of death Reason Place of death
1 Guru Nanak Fresco of Guru Nanak from above the entrance of the Baoli Sahib located in Goindwal.jpg 14 April 1469 [note 1] Since birth Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Delhi Sultanate Bedi Khatri Hindu Kalyan Das Bedi Mata Tripta 22 September 1539(1539-09-22) (aged 70) Natural causes Kartarpur, Punjab, Mughal Empire
2 Guru Angad Painting of Guru Angad, possibly from an illustrated manuscript of the Gulgashat-i-Punjab.jpg 31 March 1504 7 September 1539 Muktsar, Punjab, Mughal Empire Trehan Khatri Hindu Baba Pheru Mal Mata Ramo 29 March 1552(1552-03-29) (aged 47) Natural causes Khadur Sahib, Punjab, Mughal Empire
3 Guru Amar Das Painting of Guru Amar Das leaning against a bolster whilst seated on a raised platform on a terrace with a fly-whisk attendant.jpg 5 May 1479 26 April 1552 Amritsar, Punjab, Mughal Empire Bhalla Khatri Hindu Tej Bhan Bhalla Mata Lachmi 1 September 1574(1574-09-01) (aged 95) Natural causes Goindval, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
4 Guru Ram Das Miniature painting of Guru Ram Das seated outdoors on carpet underneath a tree with a book before him.jpg 24 September 1534 1 September 1574 Lahore, Punjab, Mughal Empire Sodhi Khatri Hindu Baba Har Das Mata Daya 1 September 1581(1581-09-01) (aged 46) Natural causes Goindval, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
5 Guru Arjan Guru Arjan painting.jpg 15 April 1563 1 September 1581 Goindval, Punjab, Mughal Empire Sodhi Khatri Sikh Guru Ram Das Mata Bhani 30 May 1606(1606-05-30) (aged 43) Execution by Mughal Emperor Jahangir Lahore, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
6 Guru Hargobind Contemporary painting of the sixth Sikh guru, Guru Hargobind. Provincial Mughal school, Deccan, mid-17th century.jpg 19 June 1595 25 May 1606 Amritsar, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire Sodhi Khatri Sikh Guru Arjan Mata Ganga 28 February 1644(1644-02-28) (aged 48) Natural causes Kiratpur Sahib, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
7 Guru Har Rai Painting of Guru Har Rai holding a flower, Pahari style, painted by a Muslim, artwork preserved by the family of Bidhi Chand Chhina.jpg 16 January 1630 3 March 1644 Kiratpur Sahib, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire Sodhi Khatri Sikh Baba Gurditta Mata Nihal Kaur 6 October 1661(1661-10-06) (aged 31) Natural causes Delhi, Delhi Subah, Mughal Empire
8 Guru Har Krishan Guru Har Krishan painting.jpg 7 July 1656 7 October 1661 Kiratpur Sahib, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire Sodhi Khatri Sikh Guru Har Rai Mata Krishan Kaur 30 March 1664(1664-03-30) (aged 7) Smallpox Delhi, Delhi Subah, Mughal Empire
9 Guru Tegh Bahadur Guru teg bahadur.jpg 1 April 1621 20 March 1664 Amritsar, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire Sodhi Khatri Sikh Guru Hargobind Mata Nanaki 11 November 1675(1675-11-11) (aged 54) Execution by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Delhi, Delhi Subah, Mughal Empire
10 Guru Gobind Singh Equestrian portrait of Guru Gobind Singh.png 5 January 1666 11 November 1675 Patna Sahib, Bihar Subah, Mughal Empire Sodhi Khatri Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur Mata Gujri 7 October 1708(1708-10-07) (aged 41) Assassinated by Jamshed Khan and Wasil Beg on order of Wazir Khan Hazur Sahib, Bidar Subah, Mughal Empire
11 Guru Granth Sahib Sri Guru Granth Sahib Nishan.jpg 29 August 1604
(date of completion of compilation of the first draft [Adi Granth]) 		20 October 1708 Amritsar, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
(place of compilation) 		The central holy scripture of Sikhism, regarded as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru.

Timeline

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ScaleMajor = increment:50 start:1500

BarData= 

 bar:Nanak text:"Guru Nanak Dev (1469–1539)"
 bar:Angad text:"Guru Angad Dev (1504–1552)"
 bar:Amar  text:"Guru Amar Das (1479–1574)"
 bar:Ram   text:"Guru Ram Das (1534 –1581)"
 bar:Arjan text:"Guru Arjan Dev (1563–1606)"
 bar:Hargobind text:"Guru Hargobind (1595–1644)"
 bar:Har text:"Guru Har Rai (1630–1661)"
 bar:HarK text:"Guru Har Krishan (1656–1664)"
 bar:Tegh text:"Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)"
 bar:Gobind text:"Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708)"
 bar:Granth text:"Guru Granth Sahib (completed 1604)"

PlotData= 

 bar:Nanak from:1469 till:1539 color:1
 bar:Angad from:1504 till:1552 color:2
 bar:Amar from:1479 till:1574 color:3
 bar:Ram from:1534 till:1581 color:4
 bar:Arjan from:1563 till:1606 color:5
 bar:Hargobind from:1595 till:1644 color:6
 bar:Har from:1630 till:1661 color:7
 bar:HarK from:1656 till:1669 color:8
 bar:Tegh from:1621 till:1675 color:9
 bar:Gobind from:1666 till:1708 color:10
 bar:Granth from:1604 till:end color:11

</timeline>

Pedigrees

Imaginary Meeting of Guru Nanak and the rest of the Sikh Gurus, Bhai Mardana, and others. 1780 painting

Bansawali Guru Sahiban Ki[note 2]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Officially observed on Katak Puranmashi (October–November)
  2. ↑ Listed names and relations might vary from source to source since different aspects of Sikh history have been written by many different individuals over the course of past six centuries

References

  1. ↑ The Sikhs. E.J. Brill. p. 38. ISBN 9004095543. 
  2. ↑ Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. pp. 186–187. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4. 
  3. ↑ The Sikhs : faith, philosophy & folk. Lustre Press. 1998. ISBN 978-8174360373. https://archive.org/details/sikhsfaithphilos0000gurb. 
  4. ↑ Stefan Pertz (2013), The Guru in Me - Critical Perspectives on Management, GRIN Verlag, ISBN:978-3638749251, p. 2–3.
  5. ↑ Singh, Veer (1964). Sri Guru Granth Kosh. pp. 122. 
  6. ↑ Parrinder, Geoffrey (30 August 1983). World religions : from ancient history to the present. Facts on File. ISBN 978-0-87196-129-7. 
  7. ↑ Sikh History from Persian Sources: Translations of Major Texts. Indian History Congress. Session. New Delhi: Tulika. 2001. pp. 5. ISBN 81-85229-17-1. OCLC 47024480. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/47024480. "The author of the Dabistan refers to the belief of the Sikhs in the unity of Guruship. The spirit of Guru Nanak entered the bodies of his successors - Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das and Guru Arjan. That was why each Guru was referred to as mahal: Guru Nanak as the first mahal, Guru Angad as the second mahal, and in this way Guru Arjan as the fifth mahal. A Sikh who does not regard Guru Arjan as Baba Nanak is not a true Sikh. The firm belief of the Sikhs is that all the Gurus are Nanak. Indeed, Bhai Gurdas underscores the unity of Guruship from Guru Nanak to Guru Hargobind in one of his Vaars. This is reiterated in another Vaar in which the metaphors of light and water are used to emphasize that they all are the same.The idea of the unity of Guruship emphasized by Bhai Gurdas legitimized the succession of Guru Hargobind to face the rival claim of Prithi Chand and his descendants." 



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